Hello,

As I am preparing to welcome my two gsp rescues into my home, I am trying to decipher all the hoop-la around the different dog food types out there.  I was interested in hearing what you all feed your gsp's.  Also, I am taking suggestions on what would be good for mine.  I was just going to continue to feed whatever it is the vet has been feeding them (unknown at the moment).  Do you mix wet/dry, just dry?  What type?  Thanks for the input!

James

When I first got Jed, the breeder was feeding Purina One. I was giving Iams Puppy a try. He ate some, but didn't seem to be that into it. One day while walking, I noticed that he seemed to be pretty skinny. I made a switch to Purina Pro Plan, and have had great results with that so far.

Browning gets Natural Balance and some freshly roasted chicken.  And anything else he can wheedle out of us during the day.  We try to keep it under control.... He's never been willing to eat dry food. 

Thanks for the input!  My poor pups will be out of luck on the freshly roasted chicken as I do not have the motivation to be the chef they want me to be.  Both are older... the male is 5 and the female 10.  Is the senior formula worth buying for them?  I see some that recommend senior formula at 5, some at 7.  What do you all think?

-J

I can't help you there, but hopefully someone will chime in, there are lots of people on here with far better knowledge than me.

I feed and have fed for about three years Diamond Naturals Lamb and Rice.  It is about $23 per 40 pound bag and you can get it at TSC and other places.  For normal energy family type shorthairs it provides enough energy for a reasonable price. 

We used to feed Purina Pro Plan Performance and had great success with this food, but it is expensive if you are feeding a few dogs. We recently made the transition to Exceed which can be purchased at Sam's Club. What a great food. It's $23 for 44lbs.

I was feeding Purina Pro Plan Performance, but I've always had a hard time keeping weight on Otto (oh, how I wish I had that problem!) and I've been battling dry skin/coat.  Just a few weeks ago, I switched Otto over to Eagle Pack Power and it looks like it's resolving the dry skin issue (fingers crossed)--but it's still a bit early to say for sure.  It runs about $45/40 lb bag around here. 

My advice is find a quality feed (where meat is the first ingredient) that you can afford AND find locally--then give it a try.   It seems every feed on the market has its fans and detractors.  You'll hear a thousand stories about how Rover was the picture of health on brand X, while Spot was ragged and listless.  Not unlike we humans.  Back in high school, my friend Jenny could eat blocks of cheese for lunch and look like a rail, while I would look at a carrot wrong and go up a dress size. 

We spent two years trying different foods with Tory and for the last year he's eaten and done very well on Purenia Pro Plan. Our pup was given Iams at the breeder's and we wanted him to be on Pro Plan for puppies so we have been mixing the two to get him adjusted without getting sick. I would recomend mixing and gradually adding any new foods vs. just starting them on one. Find out what the breeder has been feeding (most likely they will send some home with you too) see how it goes or if you know you want to make a switch start mixing them.

Post some pictures once you get those puppies home

I have fed Eagle Pack for about 15 years, either the blue bag, Kennel pack, or the purple bag, Natural. Good shiny coats, keeps weight on, they don't get fat unless you overfeed, stool size normal.  I have never tried the senior formulas, it did not seem worth the effort to switch an older dog and they want whatever the other dogs have anyway. I feed all of them the same food in different quantities.

I have tried the Purina Pro Plan and the stool size seemed to double, with 3 big dogs it make a difference.

Dan

Another vote for Eagle here- we feed the orange "power" flavor since my dogs are hard keepers to begin with and then are working in harness through the cold part of the year. The sucking noise in the middle of winter is the sound of my wallet being drained by dog food, lol!

We've done Kasco, Eukanuba, and Nutra Nuggets in the past. I don't think there was a huge noticable difference in any of them- until we went to Eagle. Coats were SO much better after that switch, and the dogs didn't need nearly as much meat supplimentation as in years gone by. I have been very impressed.

Thanks for the info. I have never heard of Eagle Pack. Is it available in most stores? Our main concerns with Tory are his wieght and the dry skin, so if someone has better luck with something other that ProPlan I want him to try it.

Here's the Eagle dealer locator link:

http://eaglepack.com/retailer_search/

We have two dealers near us--both are farm supply stores.  In our case, they rarely have it in stock, so I'll need to call and have them order it for me about two weeks before I run out. 

Just fyi--Just because they're listed as a dealer, doesn't mean they have it sitting on their shelves.  So before you make a special trip, I'd give them a call first. 

No pics yet except for the two on my phone that don't do them justice!  They will be adopted 'soon' and by that I mean as soon as they find a place to get the female spayed.  I told them I had a vet here that would do it... I just wanted to get them home!  They were personal dogs of a vet in a neighboring town. He is 83 and just had open heart surgery and is not expected to make it much longer.  The male is 5 and the Female 10.  He did 'a lot' of hunting a while back and kept them for that purpose.  I am calling today to find out what food they have been on so I can either get that or plan a transition.  The manager at petco here explained to me a little about food.  He told me that the first 5 ingredients were the vast majority of the food, and that wheat and corn were just fillers and should be avoided if possible.  He said that corn isn't digestible and that too much wheat gives dogs the dry skin.  Barley, I guess, is the ingredient that makes the stool larger and more solid.  I'll keep you posted on the happenings.  I appreciate all the feedback.